Morning journal and courier., 1887-08-18
HOW TO TELL YOUR SILVER
Origin of the Hall Marks.

From the Jewelry News.
Articles of plate are exempted from the
makers capricious desire to see his mark
upon his goods. The Goldsmiths' company,
associated as early as 1897 regularly ineor-
porated seventy years later, in the reign of
Richard H., at present undertakes this duty.
AS the law now stands all articles of plate
manufactured in or near London must be
to be marked For the essay they receive
from the manufacturers fees amounting to
some five or six thousand year, and from
the government fixed salary for collecting
the excise duty on gold and silver and pay
ing it into the bank of England. The assay
ers exercise their functions with skill and
impartiality. Small particles are seraped
off the goods to be submitted to test, and
these are duly analyzed. The assayers do
not know, and are not allowed to know,
from whose manufactured goods the par
severity in the test is adopted where any
manufacturer is found to have often sent
goods below the standard.
The marks adopted by the Goldsmiths'
Hall are five in number, and each has its
own special significance. There is the
sovereign's head, which indicates plainly
enough the reign. Next follows the lion
passant; his is the standard mark, and is
known to have been in use at the commence
ment of Queen Elizabeth's reign, but was
probably introduced in Henry Wis The
price mark is impressed next to it, and was
fixed by one of those numerous acts which
were passed in William ILL., reign to regu-
late and improve the condition of coinage.
Two other impressions remain unaccounted
for. One is the leopard's head, which is
par excellence the Hall mark, and the other
is the makers mark, which, from long GUS
tom, is added to the remaining four. But
the period of the manufacture is not left
to the mere vagueness of the sovereigns
reign. The "date letter" supplies the
missing information. Twenty letters of the
alphabet are used for this purpose, the
series beginning with the first emitting ], and
terminating with q.
On the 30th of May every letter is changed
and the shape of the letter every twenty
years. Thus from 1895 to 1916 ordinary
capitals are employed. The letter D would
indicate that the article passed the Gold
smiths Hall in 1899. With 1916 COM
menced the series of small letters SO that
date letter of would fix the year as
1890. Old English capitals followed till
1856, and the next series commenced with
small English letters. These various alpha
bets are of very old date, the earliest known
commencing with the year 1438. But
| through London is the chief seat of manu-
| facture of plate in England, there were
| other towns which had their own assay
| offices and halls. Birmingham and Sheffield
did large trade, and constant relations
were established between local hall and Fos-
ter lane. For this purpose what was called
a "diet box" passed at the end OF the
year from the country down to the capital
The assayer in Birmingham scraped eight
grains from every troy pound of manufac-
tured plate -Four of these he at once re-
tanned and assayed the other moiety was
carefully deposited in the diet box, which
contained specimens from all the articles
manufactured. Once a year the box was
| sent up 10 the capital. HE azz=y ais.sss
of the Royal Mint would then take far
average Of all the small portions IL contained
| and soiemnIy make his assay. II the average
reached the standard, ths local assayor re-
ceivsd certificate; II not, he was fined.
10 will thus be seen that there 10 clear